“>But first, why do we even need agreements? After-all, don’t they….

Take too much time to get done
It’s too early to figure out the details, we will figure them out as we go
They are too complicated
It’s not fun to talk about money and details, let’s just get to work!

Often so simple, yet more often so awkward a conversation to have, the basic agreement between parties is the oft forgotten cornerstone of any successful project. It is also the predictor of pain almost universally when they are looked over initially for sake of:

_Not wanting to upset your partner / client / employee / vendor etc.
_Not knowing your worth or having confidence in the value you are providing
_Not feeling confident in the details of the plan or having a directed course of action

For these reasons, and I am sure more, we tend to pass up on the clear agreements and substitute concrete understanding for feelings of mutual alignment and good vibes. While this saves a few feelings from getting bumped in perception or reality, it almost always dooms a project, company, relationship to distrust, despair, and destruction when faced with material challenges and or critical decisions.

In reality, not doing these things creates far more problems than avoiding them solves. EVERY TIME! For example:

_Not wanting to upset your partner / client / employee / vendor etc. creates…
_Not knowing your worth or having confidence in the value you are providing results in…
_Not feeling confident in the details of the plan or having a directed course of action ends up with…

To start, let’s explore a few basic types of agreements:

Agreements with a superior / those you are accountable to
Agreements with a partner / those that are your equal, co-creator, collaborator
Agreements with staff / those you are responsible for

With all these options where do we even begin?

The good news is that these aren’t that complicated and in fact by focussing on three, seemingly simple, things:

Measurable – if you can measure it, you can manage it (Drucker quote); the first step to being able to measure it is to name it and give it metrics for success. An Agreement must be measurable in its compliance and completeness in order for it to be an effective motivator and consensus point for those involved.

3 tips to make it Measurable:
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Actionable – an Agreement must be able to be fulfilled by each party with a reasonable effort for fair consideration / payment. Things are actionable because of their realistic ability to be achieved and relevant reward (or penalty) for those involved.

3 tips to make it Actionable:
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Clear – Agreements must be understandable by both parties and must explicitly and mutually confirm each party’s understanding of the matter at hand. All parties must be able to express and concur their understandings of the responsibilities, measurements, and rewards (or penalties) for all those involved.

3 tips to make it Clear:
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These may seem like familiar attributes, Measurable, Actionable, Clear – they are also the cornerstones of successful Goal Setting and development planning. After-all, an Agreement is really just a singular or bundle of Goals that we put on paper and make into a Contract or some other form of mutual consent.

How about a couple of examples:

Employment agreement –

Partnership agreement –

Sub-contractor agreement –

As you can see, by applying Measurability, Actionability, and Clarity all of these common scenarios are easily solvable to the benefit of all parties involved.

Healthy agreements have a plethora of benefits, some of the most important being:
Outcome / benefit 1
Outcome / benefit 2
Outcome / benefit 3

Hope this discussion will help you a bit along your journey and in your spare time, check out some of the reading below for additional tips, tricks and techniques on making sound agreements that enable co-creation and success.

Some suggested reading:
Getting to Yes
The Goal
? David Logan’s new book?